Chinna Katha - Advaita

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Dear Fellow Travellers,

 

Love and Love alone....

 

As promised, one more Chinna Katha today. It is in response to a

question posed to Bhagawan Sri Ramana Maharshi. So, the story is also

part of the answer given by Bhagawan.

 

Question: Sri Bhagawan has written that one should not show advaita

(non-duality) in one's activities. Why so? All are one. Why

differences?

 

Answer by Bhagawan: If you saw someone molesting a woman would you let

him go, thinking, " All is one " ? There is a scriptural story about this.

Some people once gathered together to test whether it is true, as said

in the Bhagavad Gita, that a jnani (sage) sees everything as one. They

took a brahmin (a member of the highest Hindu caste system), a cow, an

elephant and a dog to the court of King Janaka, who was a jnani. When

all had arrived, King Janaka sent the brahmin to the place of brahmins,

the cow to its shed, the elephant to the place allotted to elephants,

and the dog to its kennel. He then ordered his servants to take care of

his guests and feed them all appropriate food. The people asked, " Why

did you separate them individually? Is not everything one and the same

for you? "

 

" Yes, all are one, " replied Janaka, 'but self-satisfaction varies

according to the nature of the individual. Will a man eat the straw

eaten by the cow? Will the cow enjoy the food that a man eats? One

should only give what is satisfactory to each individual, whether person

or animal. Although the same man may play the role of all the characters

in a play, his actions will be determined by the role that he is playing

at each moment. In the role of a king, he will sit on a throne and rule.

If the same person takes on the role of a servant, he will carry the

sandals of his master and follow him. His real self is neither increased

nor decreased while he plays these roles. The Jnani never forgets that

he himself has played all these roles in the past.

 

Love and Love alone....

 

P. Gopi Krishna